Wrong or Right
by LeDiz
Summary: Connecting the games and Sonic Undergound - Aleena saw terrible things in her visions of her son's future, and took steps to remedy them. But all decisions have consequences we must live with...
1. What Was Seen

Wrong or Right

**DISCLAIMER**: Sonic and I have an unhealthy relationship. I swear at him a lot, and he jumps off cliffs to tick me off. We stick together, however, because he kept me interested in comic books as a kid, and I still make the mistake of watching Sonic Underground on occasion. Here is my tribute to that.

Fragment 1 – What was Seen

* * *

"Oracle! Oracle, you must help me!"

He didn't turn from his work, focussed on shredding the leaves exactly – a mistake here could change everything. "Come in, my child. Sit, and be heard."

Aleena rarely looked flustered, even when frantic and running. She was always the picture of elegance, with calm eyes that showed only hints of what she was feeling. It was a by-product of her mysticism combined with her regal bearing, which made her an excellent poker player. As she sat down, and he glanced at her for a moment, it was only her voice and slightly wide eyes that hinted how panicked she really was.

"Oracle, I have had a vision. You must help me understand it."

"Certainly, your highness. Explain," he said, flicking a hand at her before returning to his shredding.

"There was… there was a boy. A hedgehog boy. With golden fur like the sun, and I do mean like the sun. He glowed with inner fire. And his eyes… they were red as flame. It was terrifying…"

"Hmm." The Oracle set down his knife and went to check on a small cauldron, bubbling over a smaller fire.

"He was flying, but it seemed less like flying and more like the world itself was simply below him. And the world… the world had been torn apart by a torrent of water and destruction, and the boy stared down at it with such satisfaction. He was responsible for it, I am certain. Such devastation… Oracle, you must help me. Who is this hedgehog? How can I stop him?"

"You cannot," he said, adding the shredded leaves to the bubbling water as he removed it from the flame. "I have had this vision myself, and it is not something that can be avoided. The destruction will occur. All you may do is ensure it is not wreaked upon Mobius."

"Mobius? You mean the world I saw –"

"The city you saw destroyed is called Station Square, and it exists at the very centre of the human territories," he said calmly. He poured his concoction into two smaller bowls, and then handed one to Aleena. "Tea?"

"T- Oracle! This is no time for such frivolities. How might I ensure my people's safety?"

"Calm yourself, my child. You vision shall not come to pass for seventeen years. The hedgehog hog boy you saw does not yet exist as more than a twinkle in your husband's eye."

"In my… no… No! That boy, he… he cannot be _my_ son?"

The Oracle simply inclined his head to take a long sip of tea, giving her a moment to process the information before he spoke again. "Your blood contains great power, as yet unmeasured. Your son is destined for greatness, the like of which has yet to be seen by this world, and likely will not be seen again. How that power is used has yet to be decided."

"Then… then I can stop it. I can ensure his power is used in ways for good."

"Hmm," he said again, lowering his head over his tea.

Aleena set her shoulders, a small smile appearing. "If the destruction must occur, better it happen to the humans. I shall raise him to respect our people, and our lands. He will be a fine king."

The Oracle didn't even respond with a hum, though he smiled into his cup. Aleena lifted her own with a firm nod, and began fantasising about the power her people would wield.

* * *

He was visiting the palace the next time she had a vision, and found her bent over the piano she loved to play, her fingers laced in front of her lips.

"Tell me of your dream, my child," he said gently, sitting down beside her.

She didn't answer for several moments, taking a deep, steadying breath before asking, "What colour shall my child be?"

He glanced at her, then smiled. "Many, my queen. Your son's fur will see many colours over his lifetime. It is a symptom of the great power we spoke of. His eyes, too, shall change."

"I thought as much. I saw him again; the boy with the red eyes. This time his fur was black, and he stood on a burning city, wielding guns and calling for destruction." She raised her hands to cover her eyes. "Oh, Oracle, what could I have possibly done to cause such anger?"

He paused, considering how best to phrase it without actually telling her anything. "Perhaps, my queen, it is not you, but the actions of others. You have never seen yourself in these dreams. That boy's anger is not directed at you."

"Still… this power… it must be stopped. On humankind or no, such power should not be unleashed in such a way." She lifted her head, her fists clenching on the piano case. "I shall find a way to stop it."

The Oracle just stood up and walked away, mostly so she couldn't see him roll his eyes.

* * *

Much to the Oracle's rather cynical amusement, Aleena spent much of her time over the next few months researching ways to drain power. The only thing she refused to consider was asking the humans for help – she had always been bigoted against them and it seemed even seeing their 'destruction' had not changed her mind.

"But perhaps in this one special case, my queen," her husband said hopefully, holding out a folder that she refused to see. "Doctor Robotnik is supposed to be one of the leading scientists in harnessing energy. He's even considered something of an outcast among the humans, because he has theories on harnessing energy from _people_."

"You do not fool me," she said coolly. "You only wish for me to seek his aid so that we might get on with the business of producing an heir."

"I will not deny it has its appeal," he quipped, then rolled her eyes at her scoff and stepped around her to meet her gaze again. "Aleena."

That caught her attention. Although Aleena quite liked her husband—when she wasn't angry at life in general, anyway—their marriage had been political. They were friends, at best, and he more often called her 'my queen' than by name.

"I accept our marriage is what it is, to you," he said quietly, reaching out to hold her hands. "But I am loyal to my queen, and what upsets her causes me pain. I do not wish to see you so worried about a future that does not have to be. Allow me to go out and find this Robotnik. At least speak to him. Surely he can at least point you in the right direction."

"I will not admit a human to my court," she said, and yanked her hands away. "This is a Mobian problem, and will be solved by Mobians. Excuse me, _my love_."

He sighed as she stalked past him, and looked over to where the Oracle was focussed on his crystal ball. "Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?"

"It will not last much longer," the Oracle replied, and he snorted.

"Her mood or my life?" he asked dryly, and followed his wife out of the room.

* * *

Aleena's refusal lasted until she woke up screaming a month later, and sobbed into her husband's arms that she had seen their child turn into a horrible wolf-creature. If they allowed his energy to go unchecked, and then be drained from him, he would be transformed by the light of the moon into a monster.

"I cannot," she murmured into her husband's quills. "I cannot allow my son to go through such pain. No matter how angry or dangerous he may be. I cannot!"

"Shh, my queen, all shall be well," he whispered.

"No… no, not unless we seek help. We must… we must go to the humans. The human you mentioned. We must find him." She pulled back to look at him. "We must save our son. And the world."

He paused, staring at her for a long moment, and then gently leaned forward to kiss her. "I understand, my queen. I shall go at once."

"No… no, not at once," she breathed, and kissed him back. "You have been so very patient with me… but I ask you be patient for another few hours at least."

He just chuckled ruefully and allowed her to push him down against the mattress.

Riding the fastest motorbike the palace had to offer, he left the next morning, and Aleena waved him goodbye from her place beside the Oracle.

"He is a good man," she said quietly, as he passed out of sight. "When he returns, I shall make a point to get to know him better. I shall love my husband as he deserves."

"Which is a great deal," the Oracle said quietly, and turned to head back into the palace.

* * *

As he knew would happen, four weeks passed, and Aleena's husband never returned. She developed morning sickness and groaned, muttering that she supposed it only proper for a queen to swell with child while her husband adventured. Another three weeks followed, and still he never came back.

Though on the fourth, a human arrived at court and bowed low. "Your highness; the beautiful Queen Aleena, I presume?"

"I am," she said coolly, sitting back in her throne. "And you, sir?"

"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik. I was told you were seeking my assistance," he said, and Aleena blinked.

"You were? By who? Where is the one who told you?"

"Gone, your highness," he said, eyebrows raised in the very picture of innocence. "He delivered his message and then told me he planned to travel the world. See it for what it truly was. He said he had no life to return to here…"

Aleena just stared at him for a long minute, and the Oracle closed his eyes beneath his cloak. Not even he had seen everything there was to know in life, but he knew the man Robotnik was beneath his smile and charm. The Queen's husband had been a very good, brave man. The Oracle didn't doubt his life would have made a difference in the coming days.

"I see," Aleena said finally, before she stood up and moved down the steps from her throne. "Doctor Robotnik, I do indeed need your aid. I am told you have knowledge of power. Harnessing it, to be precise."

"Yes, the adventurer told me of your plight," he said, eyeing her delicately. "Are you… with child?"

"I am. And so our work must begin immediately, if it is to be done," she said, and held out a hand. "Do I have your assistance? You will be handsomely rewarded."

"Oh, I would not doubt it, my queen," he said, and bowed again, lifting her hand to kiss it. "I would not doubt it a moment."

* * *

The gem was beautiful, in its own way. Like silver, but made of glass, or perhaps the other way around. The Oracle turned it over, letting it slip through his long fingers just to see the way it fell before his other hand caught it. He was reluctant to call it falling, within his own mind; it seemed more like it floated very quickly. He could feel its power, brushing against his own, but they were separate entities – neither could touch the other, which was the only reason he didn't throw it into the fire right then.

Instead, he looked up at Robotnik in silent question.

"Ah – the Anarchy Beryl, yes," the human explained, drawing himself up again as he so often did when being condescending. "A natural by-product of the mineral commonly known as Chaos Emerald. There are theories that suggest it originally encased the emeralds, underground, until someone or other split the beryl open in search of the emeralds."

"What does it do?" asked Aleena, taking the emerald and turning it over herself. She too dropped it, though she seemed thrilled by the graceful way it moved through the air.

"It manipulates Chaos Energy – confines and controls it, one might say," he said, and took a few steps away only to peer over his shoulder. Pompous fool, the Oracle thought, before Robotnik continued. "It stores chaos energy and releases it in controlled bursts – bursts which themselves can be controlled… with the proper applied science, of course."

"Applied science?" the Oracle repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. All very complicated and very scientific… I'm sure it wouldn't be of any interest to you, my friend."

"I'm sure," he deadpanned, but it went unnoticed by Aleena and ignored by Robotnik.

Aleena considered the beryl for a moment, and then placed it back on its pedestal. "Fascinating as it is, I fear I do not understand how this might help us."

"Oh, my queen, it is only the solution to your problem!" he cried, turning around again with arms spread in triumph. "From what you have told me of your visions, I believe your son is a creature of Chaos. Quite powerful, but ultimately destructive, I'm afraid. Unless that power is contained by something like the Anarchy Beryl."

"You think this stone could do that?"

"Oh, yes… the energy would be released in small, controlled bursts, and, if properly managed, lessened a great deal." He stepped forward again, his hands clasped in front of him. "And, if the rumours I hear are true… you are expecting triplets?"

"Yes," she said, placing a hand over her swollen abdomen. "But I believe only one shall have the power to destroy cities alone."

"Ah, you miss my point, your highness. I believe that with the proper applied science, we can spread the one child's power across all three triplets," he said. "All that would need occur is for all three to act as one, and to remain touching the beryl."

"Is that kind of thing possible with mystic energy?" she asked the Oracle, who frowned.

"Certainly… though it's hardly something I'd enjoy if it were mine. The drain alone… not to mention that Robotnik has already stated that the power would be diminished by being filtered through the beryl to begin with…"

"Still… it does seem effective. Tell me, Doctor, would there be any side-effects?"

He blinked innocently. "Side-effects, your highness? Why, certainly you can only expect there to be a few minor, insignificant side-effects. As our _dear_ Oracle pointed out, a great deal of power would be lost in the transition. And, of course, given that we are dealing with a creature of Chaos, his personality might be ever so slightly altered," he said, but hurried to point out, "But in this case I can only imagine it to be a positive. We are making things much more stable, after all."

Not for the first time since Robotnik's arrival in the palace, the Oracle quashed the urge to sneer, and reminded himself that it would surely all work out in the end.

That night, Aleena didn't tell Oracle of her dream, though she told her handmaidens and that meant everyone else heard about it too.

"It's so sweet!" they kept saying, before delving into the details. "The Queen will have three beautiful children; two boys and a girl. Their leader will be good, and sweet, and so handsome…"

The Oracle didn't bother listening to the romanticised version – he'd had his own visions of the queen's children, and could guess which of them would really come to pass. But he heard it anyway.

Manic, the youngest but also the leader, who would rule Mobius as one of the people. Who loved his people. A grand king like the ones from legend.

Sonia, the diplomat, the politician. She would stand at her brother's side and advise him. She would deal with the aristocrats and the humans, always doing what was best for Manic.

And then, the romantic story Aleena told everyone except when the Oracle pointedly asked… Sonic, the sword. The oldest, who was so protective of his siblings he became a soldier, and learned to lead armies to defend their great kingdom.

But when the Oracle asked…

"I don't know how much the Anarchy Beryl will do for him, my friend," she said quietly, staring down at Robotnik as he strode across the courtyard with a group of whispering aristocrats. "All my visions ever show of him is violence… his fur coated in something slick and dark. And he laughs… oh, how he laughs over the destruction he causes."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Perhaps science and mystic stones can only take us so far. The love of a mother, of siblings… these things can do far more."

"You believe so?"

"I do not believe your son—either of them, but particularly the one of Chaos—is destined for evil, my child," he said, and let her see the confidence in his eyes.

She gazed at him silently for a few moments, then smiled and nodded. "You have a point, my old friend. Then it is decided. I shall love my children, and show them the way. I will build them monuments to love, and kindness, and my children will grow well."

"Indeed, Aleena."

He didn't see or know everything in life, but this was something he would bet the kingdom on.

* * *

The medallions were beautiful, though Robotnik seemed confused when he handed them over. "They took shape themselves. I was actually trying to make them into symbols, but they became—"

"Instruments!" Aleena cried, holding them up happily. "How perfect! Music can make sense of the darkest of emotions – it is only proper that it should deliver us from chaos!"

"I… see… of course, your highness…"

"Oh, good doctor, you have done marvels for us," she said, touching his arm. "I hope you will forgive me for ever being unkind to humans in the past. Truly, I was blinded irrationally. Tell me, is there anything I can do for you now?"

"You have already been so good to me, your highness," he said, tilting his head back. "I could only ever ask to continue living as I have, these past few months. I do so enjoy the company of the court… especially the aristocrats. They have many interesting… foibles I enjoy."

"But of course! You will always be welcome in my palace. Consider it your home from now on."

He chuckled as he bowed, and the Oracle made his decision. He would not wait here to see his city fall.

* * *

And fall it did. Spectacularly.

Robotnik made use of his time at court, especially after the triplets' birth. He spoke to the aristocrats, planted ideas in their heads about Aleena's priorities, and the fact that her husband left her. He borrowed and stole money to build grand machines he refused to explain until they were finished, and which apparently they never were.

The days before the revolution, Aleena sensed what was coming and ran to the Oracle's hermitage with her children, demanding to know what he had Seen.

He told her.

"Oh, Sonic," she whispered, crouching over his basket. "I spent so long preparing to face you, I forgot about the rest of the world. So little trust. So little faith. No surprise you would grow up so dangerously."

She decided, on the Oracle's advice, to separate the three children. Then, when the revolution came, not only would the children be safe, but it would make it much easier for Aleena to get out, herself.

"I will give them homes appropriate of who they will become," she said, nodding thoughtfully. "Sonic shall go to a labouring couple – a pair who will raise him with strong values of home, and hard work. Manic will become one of the middle class, who value family, love, and understand the balance between work and play. Sonia shall join the aristocrats and learn the ways of court, and politics. And I… when the revolution comes, I shall go where I belong. To the sewers, and the inevitable resistance. I shall reclaim my throne through blood and tears. I will be deserving of my people."

The Oracle said nothing. He knew how this played out.

* * *

Four years later, Aleena walked alongside a Resistance inventor by the name of Charles. For a long time after she'd first met him, she had only been able to stare at him, perplexed, wondering where she had seen him before. He looked familiar.

But she never did place him.

"Now, we call this place a safe house, but it ain't; not really," Charles said with a shrug. "It's owned by Red and Amber Rat. Two've the nicest folks you'll ever meet. They take in strays for a few weeks, set 'em back on their feet. But they work on the 'don't ask, don't tell' principle. They don't know anything about the Resistance, or what the people that come stay with them do for a living. Just that they're friends of mine and I'm an old friend of Red's."

She frowned as the house came into view.

She had seen this house before.

Her frown deepened, eyes widening as she caught sight of the little boy doing cartwheels in front of the house. A little blue hedgehog boy, who can't have been more than five years old.

"Oh, no…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that's their boy, Sonic. Nice kid, but probably a little brash for you, y'highness, no offence," Charles said, as the boy noticed them and stopped his tumbling.

"Uncle Chuck!" he cried, waving high above his head. "Uncle Chuck, come see what I learned how to do!"

"I'll be there in just a sec', Sonny! Gotta introduce this nice lady to your folks!"

Sonic's arm slowly lowered as he was forced to focus on her. His broad smile faded slightly, his brow furrowing, before he shrugged and turned away. "Okay, but come out straight after, okay?"

"Huh," Charles said thoughtfully, as they continued on to the front door. "That's not like him. Usually he'd be runnin' over here to show off for the stranger. Must be in trouble with his folks."

"Perhaps," she agreed quietly, still staring after her son. He was adorable – all big eyes and feet. It hardly fit the furious image she'd seen in her visions so long ago.

That afternoon, when Sonic was dragged inside the house with Charles, both blue hedgehogs now covered in mud and sharing cheeky grins, Aleena knelt down in front of him with a tentative smile.

"Hello, Sonic. My name is Ally. I hope you will welcome me as your parents have."

He just gazed at her for a long moment, shuffling his feet, before he looked up at his parents.

"Sonic? What's wrong, son?" asked Red, but Sonic quickly looked down again.

"She's like me," he said, eyes flicking up again before resettling on his shoes.

"Well, yes, Sonny-boy, there are actually a lot of hedgehogs running around the place, y'know," Charles teased gently, and Sonic shook his head.

"No, I mean… um…"

Aleena inwardly blanched, terrified that he might recognise her somehow, and quickly reached out to finger the medallion around his neck. "This is a very pretty necklace, Sonic. Did your daddy give this to you?"

"No. I came with it," he said, and then blinked and straightened up, pulling a grin onto his face. "It was a gift without purchase!"

"Sonic, you know I hate it when you say that," Amber warned, even as Red snorted.

"My mother and father always say I was given to them by the angels," he said, ignoring Amber by giving the shocked Aleena an arrogant smirk. "But I know the truth. They stole me. From Uncle Chuck and his wife that I've never met because he doesn't have one."

"Sonic!" Amber cried, but Red was snickering now, and Charles had covered his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking.

"I was made in Uncle Chuck's workshop. That's why I can run real fast! And Mother thought I was so cool that she decided to steal me! And Father said Uncle Chuck couldn't steal me back or he'd eat Uncle Chuck. Because that's what rats do, to hedgehogs they don't like, they eat them. You should be careful, lady."

"Your hi- I mean, Ally, I am so very sorry," Amber said, snatching Sonic's shoulders and yanking him away. Again, the gesture was completely ruined by Red's loud laughter and Charles' hidden giggles. Amber glared at them both and shoved Sonic behind her skirts as she stared at Aleena apologetically. "He always does things like this. He's just showing off. I'm really, very sorry."

Then she turned to glare at Sonic. "You are so very grounded, young man. No revving for a week!"

"What? No way!"

"Yes way, now go upstairs and wash up for dinner! You're a disgrace!"

"At least I don't steal."

"Sonic!"

"Or threaten to eat people, Father!"

Red's laughter doubled for a moment, but Amber just pointed at the stairs. "Be careful or I'll turn _you_ into dinner! Now go!"

He rolled his eyes, but then disappeared in a blur of blue and red that made Aleena gasp. Red smiled proudly. "Yeah, he's quite the unique boy. Been able to run like that since the day we found him on our doorstep. Heaven bless the little freakazoid."

"Red!" Amber wailed, gesturing to Aleena. "You can't use words like that in front of… company!"

"No, no… it's… it's alright," she said distantly.

"Oh… well, still, Red, you can't encourage him when he says that sort of thing! He only thinks he's funny if you laugh at him!"

"To be fair," Charles interjected, "it really was funny."

"Chuck, I swear…!"

Charles left after dinner, by which time Amber had finally stopped stepping on eggshells around Aleena. In the back of the mind, Aleena wondered how Amber would like to know the boy she had adopted was crown prince by birthright.

However it was, the family settled in for the night, moving around Aleena as if she were an old friend of the family and nothing unusual. Amber pulled out some sewing, while Red sat on the floor with Sonic, teaching him how to whittle.

"Is that not dangerous for one so young?" Aleena asked Amber quietly, but she just shrugged.

"I would normally say yes, but Sonic needs practical hobbies to keep his mind occupied. Toys and books only last so long, but a hobby like whittling… And I trust both him and Red to do it safely. If you tell Sonic how dangerous something is, he listens and takes it seriously." She smiled, lifting her sewing. "When he has the patience, I'm going to teach him sewing. He's becoming quite the help in the kitchen."

"Really… a boy…?"

"We don't stick to such roles out here in the woods," she said simply. "In our house, it is only what it is because Red is stronger, to chop wood, and I have a better hand for delicate work. Sonic is growing up to have both."

Aleena glanced over at her son, who so far had managed to whittle a stake. He looked incredibly proud of it.

"He is a good boy, then?"

"Oh yes. My gift from the Heavens," Amber murmured, and smiled when Aleena looked at her again. "Red and I… my genes won't allow me to breed with a rat, you see. Some silly deformity in my genetic makeup, reaching back through the generations. We'd just found out, when one night Red opened the door and there Sonic was, all wrapped up in a basket with his medallion and a note telling us his name. Like it was meant to be."

"And your… visitors?" she prompted. "He has not begun to follow them?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "He's barely five. He mostly thinks they're here to play with him."

"Oh… that is… good, then."

Amber gazed at her quietly for a long few minutes, then looked over at Sonic, casually leaning closer to Aleena's side. "I've heard it told that before Robotnik's takeover, the Queen had three children. The stories say they were lost in the war."

"So the stories do say," she murmured. "There were two princes and a princess, for one short year…"

"I imagine it must have been hard for her, to lose them so soon."

She tilted her head, allowing the hair that usually stayed tucked behind her crown to fall forward. "I imagine it was harder than anything."

"Sonic is brash, and arrogant, and a troublemaker," Amber said gently. "But he is also an incorrigible show-off. I'm sure he would love to pester you for the next week… unless, of course, you would rather he didn't…?"

"Thank you, but… I am so uncertain. It is hard to see what could have been." She smiled, tucking her hair back again. "And he is such a handsome little hedgie! I must confess I am jealous!"

"Don't let him hear that," she warned, before standing up. "Alright boys! It's Sonic's bedtime!"

"Awww!"

"No aw, just go. The morning awaits!"

"You're no fun, Mother," Sonic informed her, but he still rushed over to give her a quick hug before waving to Aleena and then disappearing.

Again, Aleena thought sadly.

* * *

From cliffs high above the carnage, a year later, the Oracle stood by Aleena's side as the Rat household was burned down. They watched Sonic run to Charles' arms, and then as Robotnik's ship took Red and Amber away.

"Why?" Aleena breathed. "They were good to Robotnik. They paid his taxes, they… they followed his laws. The Resistance barely even dealt with them. That was the point – they did everything right so Robotnik would have no reason to look at them."

"It is an experiment. Robotnik wishes to see what will happen, should someone attempt to derobotocise someone," the Oracle said, glaring at the flames. "He took them because no aristocrats would notice. He will robotocise them, and he will attempt to take off Amber's cybernetics by hand. Red shall be forced to watch, and he will be consumed by his fury. He will die before tomorrow's sun sets. And then he too shall be robotocised, and torn apart."

"Oh… oh, no… not them…" Aleena buried her head in the Oracle's shoulder, tears sliding down her cheeks. "Of all the good people in the world… why…?"

"Because there are things that must happen, my dear," he said coldly. His eyes tracked up to where Sonic was still sobbing in his uncle's arms. A small boy still, but aware of what was happening. It was too much. It would always be too much. That was the point. That was what would drive him. "You had good intentions, but Sonic is destined to fight. And fight he shall. His foster parents shall be the catalyst."

"But… but he is so young…!"

"Now. In three years, he will be captured along with a group of children. And they shall be forced to watch the recorded deaths of Red and Amber Rat. And he shall run, and never stop, until Robotnik is gone."

Aleena gaped at him, horrified. "But… no… no, he cannot see…!"

"He will. And he will see much worse. You cannot stop that, Aleena." He turned to look at her, eyes hard. "You have done what is best for Mobius. And Mobius shall triumph for it. But do not ever think these things will come without cost."

* * *

_ I haven't published anything in a while, but the urge to connect my guilty pleasure with the games has been kicking around for a while, so here we are. There are two more fragments to come... I hope someone will join me for the ride!_


	2. How it Happened

Wrong or Right

Fragment 2 – How it Happened

**DISCLAIMER**: Egh, I figured, since it's already written… Also, this is probably my favourite of the three fragments, because TAILS! Tails is adorable. But I yelled at him a lot in Sonic 2. Drop all my rings, will you?

* * *

Everyone had been terrified when Sonic and Cyrus went missing for two days. They were young, and known for getting in trouble.

But they were also known for getting out of trouble, so it was easy for his parents to relax when Cyrus walked in the kitchen door on the third morning. They waited a few moments, but Sonic didn't follow him in, and Cyrus slowly began to lean back against the door, his arms wrapping around his waist, before he slid to the floor and didn't get back up again.

"Cyrus, honey? What happened?" His mother knelt down in front of him. "Cyrus? Cyrus, look at me… what happened? Where have you been?"

"S-so much… it… oh, Mom," he whispered, and then lunged into her arms, clutching her shirt. "Mom… Mom, oh, geez…!"

He told them, eventually, about how he and Sonic had been racing their home-made hover carts in the street when a SWATbot patrol picked them up. He told them how they were thrown in a cell with a bunch of other kids. He told them about the video of Robotnik they were shown, explaining that he was trying to take ruffians like themselves off the streets and make things safer for the higher class. He told them, too shocked to cry, about the video they'd been shown afterward, telling them there was no escape. That they would be robotocised. And even if they were rescued, they would never be derobotocised, because you couldn't be. Any attempt only ended in very messy, bloody death.

He told them how he and most of the other kids had fought the urge to throw up.

He told them how Sonic had just stared at the screen through each bloody moment.

He didn't tell them, but they found out later, that he had watched his parents' murder with wide eyes, and had a complete mental shut-down. Years later, Sonic told his uncle that all he could remember was his father's last words to him. Telling him to run. Run away and never look back.

So he had.

"South Island?" Sonic repeated curiously, staring at the ocean he had somehow managed to cross in his 'sleep'.

The armadillo next to him shrugged and smiled. "Yup. Dunno why, though. We're not that far south."

"Maybe it's… you know… what's the word… ironic?"

"I dunno. What's ironic mean?"

"Like I should know? It's just a word." He continued staring at the ocean. "How'd I get here?"

"Ray says you ran."

"Ray?" he repeated. "Who's Ray? And whaddaya mean, ran? I ran across the water?"

"According to Ray. He's shy, though, dunno where he is right now…"

"Huh…" Sonic hesitated, then stood up and looked at his new friend. "So, Mighty. What's a guy got to do around here?"

"Not a whole lot," he confessed, folding his arms behind his head. "Hang out. Sleep. Eat. There's a bunch of old human wreckage if you go up near the volcano. And the Scrap Brain Zone. Man… there's some crazy stuff in there. Fetches a good price at market if you've got the guts to get it."

"What about Robotnik? Do people fight him here?"

"Robotnik? Psh. He's not gonna come out here. Too far for that fat whack job to come," he said, and Sonic blinked.

Then he looked back at the island, and all of its lush, green trees. The promise of sleep and relaxation and… and no Robotnik.

He smirked. "Way past cool."

* * *

Sonic's eyes widened, and he rushed forward. "Ray! Ray, come look at this!"

"What?" Ray, the little yellow flying squirrel that was one of Sonic's two closest friends, popped out of the underbrush.

They were searching for scraps among the human crash sites, like they did most days. If they were still intact, Mighty was good at cleaning them up, and if not, Sonic and Ray could usually knock them together into something worth selling at market. It made them enough money to get by pretty well, since they lived and slept outdoors.

Sonic spun around, but slapped his hand behind himself, on the huge pile of junk he was standing in front of. "Look at this baby! Isn't she gorgeous?"

Ray just stared. "It's… it's junk? Should – should fetch a good price if we break it down?"

"What? No! No, no, no, Ray, don't you know what this is? This is a grade-A bi-plane!"

He continued staring. "What- whatever that is, it's not it anymore," he said. "It's junk."

"No! Ray, if we fix this baby, she can fly!"

"I'm a flying squirrel. I can already fly."

"Except that you don't know how."

"I – I – I could! One day!" he cried, but then ducked his head. "Maybe. If I can find some- someone to t-teach me."

For a moment, Sonic just looked at him awkwardly, knowing he'd gone too far. But he didn't really know how to apologise for something he knew was true, so he just turned back to the plane. "Well, if we can put this thing back together, you won't have to! Think of how much more scrap we could salvage if we stuck this thing back together! We could fly all over the island in a day! Maybe even get to other islands! We could go to Westside Island! They have a carnival zone!"

"You can already get all over the island in an hour… and you could run to Westside like you ran here," he said, but he was inching closer. "But – but Sonic… put – putting scrap back together with screws and pins is what we do. I'm not a mechanic and neither are you! We – we couldn't fix a p-plane."

"Says you. Look, all that's happened is that this wing's torn, and the hull's open… And the propeller's gone. I bet the engine's fine. That's the only thing I couldn't do anything with, you watch!"

Ray frowned dubiously, but he had already crept up beside Sonic and was gazing down at the plane with an appraising eye. "It – it would be kind of neat to visit Carnival Night Zone. I could – could never afford the ferry ride before."

Sonic just grinned and clapped him around the shoulders. "Just watch, Ray. I'm gonna make this baby into a real tornado!"

* * *

"Who teaches themselves how to _fly a plane_?" Mighty demanded, as Sonic skidded into an almost perfect landing. The old bi-plane, fixed to near-perfection, now looked almost as bad as it had when Sonic and Ray dragged it into their camp, six months before. But it still flew, and Sonic could now pilot it without crashing. "It's insane!"

"It's way past cool," Sonic argued, finishing off his post-flight checks and jumping out.

"You taught yourself how to _fly_ a PLANE!"

"Yup. Also taught myself how to drive, hover board, and I'm thinking about skiing," he added thoughtfully.

"But never – never swimming," Ray pointed out, and Sonic scowled.

"I'll swim when I forget how to run."

"After watching you crash sixty-seven times, I'm surprised you remember how to walk," Mighty shot back, but Sonic waved him off.

"Forty-two. And once I figured out what the instruments meant, I was sweet!"

"I repeat: in-sane."

"Please! You're just jealous you can't… do you hear that?"

Mighty frowned, tilting his head, and Ray flicked an ear up toward the sky. There was a rumbling noise, like Sonic's engine, but smoother and deeper, reverberating in their chests as it came closer.

"What is that?"

Ray leapt up from the branch he was sitting on, higher up the tree and into the leaves above. He paused when only one foot was still visible and called down, "It's a ship! A huge, f-flying ship! Like – like a building, but floating!"

"It sounds like it's coming closer…" said Mighty, and Sonic grunted in agreement.

"It's nowhere near us yet… closer to Westside Island," Ray called. "But it's coming. Fa- fast."

They stood in instinctive, uneasy silence, just waiting. After almost a minute, when the engines were a roar, and Sonic's plane was rattling from the sound alone, the ship began to appear overhead. They stared up at it, and Sonic felt his blood begin to run cold.

On the side, there was a symbol.

He'd never seen it before, but it was still familiar. A red circle, split by what looked like a huge moustache.

Robotnik was on South Island.

* * *

For a week, nothing happened. After a while, Mighty and Ray got irritated by Sonic's constant worrying and refused to let him scavenge with them, so he spent all of his days running around the zones, staring at the levitating rocks as they appeared from above and below, always expecting Robotnik or a SWATbot to be on one of them.

What he didn't expect was a tiny robot, only two-thirds his size, just rolling around the Green Hill Zone and completely ignoring him. It just kept going, backwards and forwards, its little bladed hands tapping against the ground, a large metal cog churning it forward.

It kind of looked like a demonic ladybug. He squatted down in front of its path, just to watch it for a while, then carefully picked it up. In his arms, it felt huge, but Sonic had always been stronger than people thought he should be. The robot continued turning and tapping its claws, though, as if it were still on the ground.

He took it back to camp and showed it to Ray, who found it creepy, and Mighty, who wanted to find more and sell them as security dogs.

"They'll really sell, too," he said, ignoring the way Ray clung to his shell and watching the motor bug roll back and forth. "People are totally freaking out right now."

Sonic gave him a sharp look. "Because of Robotnik?"

"_No_," he said impatiently. "Because people have been disappearing. And don't start – there hasn't even been like a struggle or anything. They just go out one day and don't come home."

"I bet they did. And then Robotnik got them."

"Oh, will you drop it already?" he cried. "I've heard about Robotnik – he's like a king, right? Big deal! I don't know why you don't like him, but he's probably just here –"

"He's here to ruin everyone's lives! He's going to take over the whole world and turn all of us into mindless cyborgs to be his slaves!" he shouted, making Mighty flinch and Ray yelp, crouching down further behind Mighty. Sonic ignored it, stepping close and glaring. "And that's if we're _lucky_! He wants to turn the whole world into one big, giant, world-polluting factory, and the only people who are safe are the people who want to work for him for free! The aristocrats are safe for now, but you just wait – once he's done with us, he's going after them!"

For a long few seconds, Mighty could only stare at him, slowly reaching back to pet Ray's shaking ears. "Sonic… think about it… why would he want us?"

"Y-you're s-scaring m-m-me," Ray whimpered, but Sonic didn't back down, snatching up a rock and thrusting it forward until it was only a centimetre from Mighty's eyes.

"You see this? This is what Robotnik can do. It looks fine when it's over there – when it's happening to someone else!" he said, and spun around, pitching the rock at the little motor bug. It hit hard, splintering the casing and going straight through, causing a small explosion that made Ray jump. But then it popped again, and the robot stopped, falling apart. Sonic froze, mid-rant, as he and Mighty turned their heads to watch the casings fall away, revealing a small, shivering rabbit.

"…Jack?" Mighty asked finally. "Jack the Bunny, is that you?"

He didn't move, and the two boys glanced at each other before moving forward.

"Jack? Jack, it's me, Mighty," he said quietly, crouching down. "What happened? Your mother's been looking for you for days…"

But still, the little rabbit didn't answer, just continued shaking and whimpering, clutching his head. Slowly, Sonic began to reach out, but the moment his fingertips touched Jack's shoulder, the rabbit leapt up and bolted through the trees.

The three boys stared after him blankly, then looked around at each other.

"W-was h-h-he t-tr-trapped?" whispered Ray. "Ins-s-side that r-r-robot?"

"I think he was," Mighty breathed, and he looked back at Sonic. "I think he's been locked inside it since he went missing on Tuesday."

Sonic stared down at the remains for a long moment, then looked up at Mighty. "I dunno, Mighty. Why would he want us?"

Mighty just stared back at him, then abruptly stood up and walked back to Ray. "Okay, you made your point. But he's not everywhere yet. There are other islands to go to."

"H-how w-will you g-g-get to th-them?" asked Ray, as Mighty gently pulled him to his feet.

"_We_ are going to sneak onto a ferry. You and me, kiddo. If we get caught, we get caught, but at least we won't get turned into robots. Sonic can come too, if he wants," he said, then looked back at his friend. "But somehow I think he's got other plans."

"Yeah," Sonic stood up, a slow smile making its way over his lips. "Robotnik doesn't belong here. I'm gonna make sure he knows it."

* * *

Sonic talked big, and he'd seen Robotnik plenty of times on screens around Robotropolis; his fat, bloated, smarmy face and those horrible black eyes… seeing him in person was harder.

At first, Sonic could only stare up at him, his heart pounding in his chest as he remembered that this was the man that literally tore apart his mother's face. This was the man who had his father shot, and then robotocised, and then used his own hands to rip him apart.

Luckily, it seemed Robotnik could only do the same to him.

"You… you're a hedgehog!" he snarled, jerking them both out of their horrified trances. "You're a blasted hedgehog!"

"And you're a fat old man!" he shot back on pre-pubescent instinct.

"But… the prophecy… but… but wait… you're alone."

"And I'm still gonna whup your butt!"

Robotnik ignored that, a nasty smile slowly spreading over his face. "And you have no medallion…"

He flinched, remembering the necklace he'd always worn as a child. Uncle Chuck had always said not to wear it when he was working with electricity, because they weren't sure if it was a conductor. So he hadn't been wearing it when he was captured, since he'd been messing with his hoverboard's wiring. But how did Robotnik know about it…?

"You're no prophecy come back to haunt me," he said, chuckling to himself as the bottom dropped out of his strange hover… ball… thing. Sonic was still puzzling out what to call it when a large orange and black ball began to descend from the trapdoor. Robotnik's chuckling turned into nasty snickers. "You're just a rodent to squish beneath my feet! Or Checker Ball, as it were."

And so the war began.

* * *

"And stay off South Island!" he shouted, as Robotnik literally ran back to his Egg-o-matic, still singed and smoking from the wreckage of his stupid factory.

For a while, Sonic considered going after him. Until he realised that he wouldn't really know what to do with him if he caught him.

Hit him? Yeah, so what? He'd done it before. Wasn't really all that satisfying.

Destroy his Egg-o-matic? For what? Just to see the old guy try to swim off the island?

Kill him?

Wandering over to the console he'd seen Robotnik hit before leaping into his squishing device, Sonic folded his arms and looked at it blankly, because it was easier than contemplating his last thought. His eyes caught on a small clock in the corner, and the date. With an ironic smile, he noticed it was the day his parents had always celebrated as his birthday – nine years to the day that they found him on their doorstep. He sighed, rubbing a hand up his face and over his quills. Had it really only been yesterday he said goodbye to Mighty and Ray?

A soft groan reminded him that he was still in the factory, surrounded by people he'd broken out of robot shells. He blanched and looked back out the door he'd come through, to where he could see a chicken struggling to her feet. She wavered a moment, her eyes wide and scared, before she slowly looked around to see him staring back at her.

They just blinked at each other for a moment, before Sonic turned and ran.

* * *

"So these kids of yours," Knuckles said slowly, watching the hedgehog queen carve her message into the stone. It didn't seem possible – she was too thin and pretty to have the strength to carve like that. He figured there was some kind of magic going on and tried to ignore it. "They're my age?"

"A little younger," she said with a soft smile.

"And they're gonna save the world?"

"You and I shall aid them," she said.

"Uh huh…" He kicked his legs back and forth, his gaze rising to look around the jungle instead. "What are we all saving the world from, exactly?"

She paused, then sat back on her heels to look at him, waiting until he met her gaze. "You are so very far above the world, young Guardian. You do not know it yet, but below, there is a great evil. One which would enslave us all. But, in time, this evil will come to you. And my children shall help you defeat it. And then you shall help them save the world."

"Right," he said dubiously, but she accepted it as agreement and went back to her carving. "So uh… anything I should know about these kids of yours?"

"I know them best through prophecy and visions," she said sadly. "And I have learned the hard way that visions may mislead us."

"Oh…kay…?"

"Concern yourself not with my mistakes. As to the future, their leader shall be Manic, a good and wise future king, who is friend to all and a man of the people. Sonia shall be a great diplomat and advisor. Sonic…" She swallowed, brushing her fingers through her hair, near the crown. "He shall fight for his siblings, and learn much from them. I believe it is he who your destiny is most entwined with, as you shall fight together in defence of the kingdom and your island."

Knuckles just grunted and looked back out across the jungle, wondering whether his father had ever had to deal with this sort of thing.

* * *

Westside Island, Sonic decided as he ran through the underbrush, was way past cool.

It had speeding pads! Sure, they were intended for trucks and things, getting a head-start so they could get through the rock formations that were impossible to pass on this island, but who cared? They were _speeding pads_!

And the rock formations themselves… and the levitating rocks… it was all so awesome!

The Casino Night Zone _alone_!

Also – somehow, the people here knew who he was, and thought he was cool. It was nice not to have to point it out to people. There was something kinda awesome about seeing his name written in sparkling gold letters and graffiti, just because people wanted to remember him. Even better was getting free food because people knew who he was and wanted to be able to say Sonic the Hedgehog had eaten at their restaurant.

But today, he was escaping all that and just going for a run, exploring the Emerald Hill Zone because he was pretty sure it changed every few days.

After about half an hour though, he noticed the sound of something following him, and glanced back.

A little orange fox yelped and leapt into the bushes.

"What the…"

Sonic skidded to a stop and then turned around, jogging back to where he'd seen the fox. But there was nothing there now. He frowned, looking around a little, then shrugged and went back to his run.

He'd convinced himself it had just been his eyes tricking him until ten minutes later, when he heard the sound again and looked back, almost stumbling when he saw the orange fox gasp and jump away again. He slid into a turn and sprinted back, but the fox was gone again.

"How…? What, can this kid turn invisible or something?" he wondered.

The third time he noticed the sound of someone following him, he didn't turn around, just flicked his ears back to listen. It sounded like a rotor of some kind.

A robot… His eyes narrowed, teeth gritting. The little orange fox was a robotocised Mobian. Robotnik was on Westside Island.

He poured on the speed and dashed off, still listening behind him. The sound faded away – it clearly couldn't keep up with him at more than a jog.

He went into the island's city and found a restaurant that didn't care who he was. He wasn't in the mood to be spoiled, tonight. Not when Robotnik was here. He'd come and build a stupid factory and all these great people would be…

Sonic ordered a plate of chilli dogs and glared at his water.

It was almost ten before he got back to the camp he'd made beside his bi-plane, down on the beach. The sound of muttering made him stop on the edge of the jungle, and he crept forward, peering through the trees toward the plane.

The little orange fox. But… but he couldn't see any cyborg parts. He frowned and snuck further around, wishing his night vision was better.

But in the end, it didn't matter. The 'robotocised Mobian' turned out to just be a little orange fox, without any cyborg parts. He was completely Mobian except for the fact he had… two tails. Huh. And, more importantly, he was painting the Tornado.

Sonic blinked rapidly, confused. His old plane, his pride and joy… this kid had appeared out of nowhere and given it a paint job. He hesitated a moment, trying to decide whether he was ticked off.

In the end, he decided it didn't bother him, and stepped out of the brush. "Hey."

"WAHH!"

The paint bucket went up as the kid went down, and Sonic blanched, dashing forward to catch it before the red paint could go all over the cockpit. "Jeez, kid, don't wig out, I just… just…" He stopped, staring down at the controls of his plane. They were all clean. And the seat was clean too. What, was the kid some kind of bi-plane detailer?

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I was just –! And the thing! And the other thing! It all just went! And I thought it looked dusty, so I cleaned it! And the engine was really bad, so I cleaned it, and fixed just a few tiny little things, and it's really nothing and I can unfix it if you want and –"

"Kid!" Sonic snapped. "Shut up!"

The fox's mouth clicked shut, and Sonic frowned at him, lowering the paint tin down over the side of the cockpit and sitting down in the seat. He ran through a check, and blinked when the propeller roared to life without complaint, and the engine didn't cough once. He turned it off and just sat there, staring at his plane.

"Hey, kid," he said, snapping his fingers at the fox.

"Me?"

"Yeah, you, Tails," he said, and threw him a quick grin. "You totally sup'ed up my plane, didn't you?"

"Um… I… what?"

"That is just wicked cool," he said, and jumped down out of the plane to stand in front of the fox, who continued blinking at him. "Hey, I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Got a name, Tails?"

"Uh… I'm… I know who you are," he said awkwardly. "Um… I'm… um…"

Sonic waited through a few more 'um's before giving up and moving around to the engine block. "Seriously, dude, you rock! I put the pieces together, but I've never known anything about engines."

"I… they're… well… I…"

"Hey, were you following me before? How'd you keep up with me going so fast?"

The kid continued blinking at him, but rather than stumble through some kind of verbal response, he began twirling his tails around, almost as fast as Sonic could wheel his arm, until they turned into a propeller themselves, and he began to lift off the ground.

"Oh, that is seriously awesome," Sonic said decidedly. "I bet you can go real fast with those pushing you on!"

"I… yeah. But… it's not… it's not cool," he said quietly, lowering himself back to the ground. "I'm a… I'm a freak."

"Who the heck told you something stupid like that?" demanded Sonic. "It's way past cool, dude!"

"The – the other kids… the people in the city… they said –"

"And you're gonna listen to them?" he asked, and shook his head. "No way, dude. When I was a kid, they used to say I was a freak for being able to run fast. To heck with that – I'm the coolest guy there is!"

He continued rambling, excited over the plane and meeting someone who could keep up with him (even if he was going slow-ish at the time), but the kid just continued gaping at him for several minutes, before suddenly shouting, "Miles Prower!"

Sonic stopped, mid-gush about the grease on his propeller, and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Th- that's my name. Miles. Miles Prower," he said, and Sonic blinked.

"Is it cool if I keep calling you Tails?"

"Uh… it… what do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do you mind if I call you Tails? It's just that when I was growing up, people used to use miles instead of kilometres, so it sounds like you're saying 'miles per hour' which sounds stupid, so can I call you Tails instead?"

Miles stared back at him. "You think Tails sounds better than Miles?"

"Don't you?"

He stopped, considering that for a few seconds. "Well… yeah, kinda. I-if it's not because you're being mean."

"Pretty pathetic way of being mean, if it was. I mean, dude, it's like someone calling me Blue, or Spike. Ew. Spike the Hedgehog." He scrunched his muzzle. "Now that sounds lame."

And 'Tails' just continued staring at him, a slow smile building over his face.

* * *

"Hey Sonic?"

He looked up from the magic rings he was counting to where Tails was hovering, high above the trees they'd stopped under. Magic rings were pretty common out here on the islands, especially around the zones, which were filled with the weird energy that made rocks levitate and crystalline spikes grow from the ground. The danger made them valuable, which was how Sonic and Tails made money to eat in those towns that didn't want to give them free stuff just because Sonic was cool. But Tails was terrible at keeping hold of them, let alone counting how many they had, so he often practiced flying while Sonic counted their stash.

He peered down at Sonic and pointed ahead. "I haven't been to this side of the island before. What's that place on the other side of the bay?"

"Gimme a sec'," he said, and leapt up the trees to join Tails near the top, standing on one leg and using Tails' shoe for balance as he gazed at the view. Sure enough, a good mile away on the other side of the bay, a huge grey building was being built. He frowned, shielding his eyes from the sun as if that might help him see. "I dunno, little buddy. Looks like a… like a factory or something."

"It looks creepy. I bet there are ghosts."

Sonic glanced up at him, then smirked. "You know ghosts aren't real, right?"

"Of course I do! I just meant, um, if there _were_ ghosts, they'd live somewhere like that." He blinked, then hurried to add, "Unlive. Exist. Haunt."

"Whatever," Sonic finished for him, and then went back to peering at the building. "You're right, though. It is creepy… I say we head back to Emerald Hill, cash in the rings, then go check it out, whaddaya say?"

"What?" he yelped. "No! Sonic, no, that place is weird, I don't wanna go!"

He just chuckled and jumped back to the ground. He figured he'd tease Tails about it for a few days, but not actually go there. He continued to think that, until they were actually walking through Emerald Hill, and Sonic noticed a monkey clinging to a palm tree up ahead.

A robotic monkey.

"Hey, Tails, hang here a sec'," he said, and then sprinted into a spin-dash and broke the thing apart. He landed on two feet and spun around to see a squirrel drop from the metal remains and land hard, blinking in confusion. Sonic's fists clenched, and he looked up at Tails, who stared blankly back.

"S-Sonic…? Is that…?"

"A robotic casing. I only know one guy sick enough to do that. Robotnik's on Westside Island," he growled. "C'mon, Tails. Let's go bash some 'bots."

* * *

"A Chaos Emerald?"

"Yeah, they're like um… magic, or something," he said, holding it out for Tails to see. This was the grey one, which always reminded him of lightning, for some reason. "There are seven of them."

"Wow… what do they do?"

He shrugged. "Something cool. They sure make me feel awesome. Here, take a hold." He dropped it into Tails' open hands and smiled. "Feel that?"

"No. It's a rock," he said, then stopped and frowned, tilting his head a little. "But… actually… maybe…"

"It's a kind of like a… like a hum, but from inside," he said, poking Tails' chest fur. "A kinda warm feeling."

He hesitated, his eyes narrowed. "Maybe? Kinda? Do that poking thing again."

"What, this?"

"Yeah," he said, then grabbed Sonic's hand and held it. "Yeah… I can feel what you're talking about now. Like when we were in that hot water before. Bubbly. But inside."

"I guess…" he said slowly, taking his hand back.

Tails hesitated, then shook his head and handed back the emerald. "I can only feel it when you're touching me. Weird. So what happens when you get all seven together?"

"I'm not sure about that either," he said, tossing it from one hand to the other. The warm hum was stronger than it had been the last time he had them. "I had all seven a while back, but I wasn't sure what to do with them. Then, when I woke up one morning, they were gone. I think they're special like that."

"Weird," he said again. "So should we collect them?"

"Sure, I guess. I'd kinda like to have them again… they feel… familiar," he said, and held the emerald up to the firelight. It didn't sparkle, but almost glowed, from the inside. He smiled and leaned back against the ground. "Like I was supposed to find 'em, you know?"

"Yeah…" he said, and then leaned back against a tree, wrapping his tails around him as he gazed at his adopted big brother with a soft smile. "I think I do."

* * *

_ So... talk to you later?_


	3. Decisions that were Made

Wrong or Right

Fragment 3 – The Decisions that were Made

**DISCLAIMER**: You know, the difference in character between the games and Underground for both Sonic and Knuckles is just... ridiculous. Seriously. Underground Knuckles is just so... cute. And pathetic. I am assuming that in my little canon world here, after being so stupid so many times, he gets grumpy. And sarcastic. And lots of fun to watch. Bear with me with Knuckles' Underground characterisation, though?

* * *

Before he'd started dealing with Robotnik and his robotic-encased slaves, Sonic had never really had a problem with water.

He hadn't liked it, or been able to swim, but he'd never had a problem with being in it. When he was a kid, he'd spent a lot of time splashing around in the shallows of the river by his parent's house.

But these days…

Tails stared down into the pink, toxic water that covered this zone, then back to where Sonic was leaning on the steps, taking breaths and reminding himself he'd gotten through the Labyrinth Zone just fine.

"I bet we can find another way around," Tails said helpfully. "There're some platforms floating along over the other side – I bet there's some around the way."

"No, it's okay," he said, and pushed himself upright to walk over beside Tails. They gazed down at the encased Mobians swimming below. "Okay, so, there is air down there. You see how the bubbles are coming up every few metres?"

"Yeah, but –"

"You just have to get your mouth right over them to catch the air. It'll feel weird, but you can do it."

"I'll do my best, but –"

"And remember, water pressure makes you move slower, and sink slow, too. So always be ready to dodge."

"I _know_, Sonic, I always am. But we –"

"You have got rings on you, right? Because water slows even me down, so I won't be able to –"

"Sonic!" he cried, and grabbed his arm to force his attention. "We don't have to go down there if you don't want."

He shut his mouth, then sighed and closed his eyes. "Sorry, little buddy, I know I'm acting a little whacked right now. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? We can go another way."

"No, it's just…" He stepped a little closer to the water and stared down at it. The toxicity wasn't too bad – they'd tested it already. As long as they didn't drink it, they figured they'd be fine. But that wasn't what bothered him. "Water's the one thing I'm no good in. Even in the air, I'm okay, but down there… it slows me down, and it's tricky, y'know? Currents can kick serious butt, and you can't see them coming."

"Mm…" Tails took a deep breath, then stepped up and grabbed Sonic's hand in his. "But we'll be okay! I've heard South Island's got all sorts of water traps and you made it through there okay! This is just the same, only not really water! It's acid! That's totally different!"

Sonic gave him the look that deserved. "Was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I think so," he said, blinking. "Did it?"

He rolled his eyes and ruffled Tails' hair, hard. "You idiot. C'mon, let's get going before I get cold feet."

"I'm pretty sure that's gonna happen anyway, what with us going in water and everything."

"Oh, shut up and get in there."

* * *

For a long time, they both just stared at the emerald, glinting quietly in the moonlight, before Sonic slowly reached down and picked it up. As he straightened, his quills shifted as they always did in a strong breeze, and it took Tails a second to realise he couldn't feel any wind.

But then they settled again, and the only unusual thing was the small, content smile on Sonic's lips. Sonic grinned maniacally a lot, and smirked, but his smiles were rare. He looked up at Tails, curling the emerald close to his chest. "That's it. That's the seventh emerald."

"Yup."

"We've got all seven… geez… do you feel that?" He looked around, his shoulders rolling back and ears standing straighter than they had since they'd first seen that robot monkey. "Just _look_ at this place…"

Tails frowned, leaning back a little. "You cool, Sonic?"

"_Way_ past. I'm so cool, I'm glacial," he said, then blinked and looked down at Tails, as if only just noticing he was there. "Let's keep going. The sooner we're away from all this oil, the better."

He nodded, but continued watching Sonic as they ran onward. His smile had become a smirk, and he bashed through bots faster than ever, barely glancing back to see if the captured people had gotten out okay before continuing.

Really, Tails knew he should have been watching where he was going, rather than Sonic. So he only really had himself to blame when he slammed straight into a Aquis, losing his grip on his protective rings and then falling back, dazed, as the robotic seahorse lined up for a clear shot.

"Huh?" Sonic twisted around to look, but it was too late. The oil burst out and hit Tails square in the chest, sending him back and over the edge they had only just jumped onto, above several large, glistening spikes. "_Tails_!"

"Sonic!" he screamed, trying to scramble for balance, but it was too late. He didn't even have time to kick his tails into gear and save himself – he was going to get spiked and stabbed and – and then he stopped in mid-air, caught by a pair of strong arms, and all he could see was gold. He blinked, and the gold formed itself into a brilliant-furred hedgehog with glowing eyes, apparently perfectly balanced on the deathly spikes and holding Tails in his arms.

"S-Sonic?" he guessed, and the hedgehog narrowed his eyes a little before tossing Tails up over the ledge. He wasn't in the least surprised to see the Aquis destroyed, the little glow-worm that had been trapped inside staring back at him like he was the odd one, rather than the glowing hedgehog behind him that was… oh… levitating a good two inches off the ground.

He turned his back on the worm. "Sonic? Is that you?"

He didn't answer, just reached forward to check Tails for injuries in the same calm, slightly rough way that he always did. Finding himself satisfied, he pulled back with a soft smile and ruffled Tails' hair before gesturing for them to keep going.

"Sonic? Why aren't you talking?"

He stopped so suddenly that Tails almost ran into him, then turned faster than Tails could track. He frowned, then shrugged and leapt the six metres across the next gap like it was a wide step.

Tails blinked again and flew after him.

* * *

Power Rings had always affected Sonic differently than other people. Tails said he knew what Sonic meant when he said they gave him a tiny energy boost, and Mighty had hinted he might too, but for most people they were just pretty jewellery and money. But for Sonic, they really fitted their name: power.

And this… calling on the seven emeralds for help… this was like sixty bazillion Power Rings at once.

He could feel… everything. The wind, Tails' heartbeat, the vibration in the ground seventy metres below… it was all there. He could hear the Mobians in their robotic casings, and he knew exactly how far away Robotnik was.

It was so much power that he wasn't entirely sure he still had fingers. Things like that… fingers and toes and tongues and everything were all just so insignificant. Speaking was pointless. He was vaguely aware he was floating, and that was weird, but who really cared?

He looked back at Tails, and smiled. His little buddy. He liked Tails. He was a smart, good kid. He was totally gonna save everything some day, Sonic just knew it. In this form, with the emeralds filling him with power, it wasn't just something he believed – it was something he knew. Tails was going to change the whole world.

They both were.

* * *

After a few tries, it became easy to slip in and out of his super-powered form, dispersing the energy into their surroundings but not letting the emeralds leave. He realised now that it was a matter of not letting them think he didn't need them anymore – the minute they thought that, they would vanish.

Unfortunately, he wasn't in his super-powered form when they were on the bi-plane, almost to Robotnik's flying fortress. According to some plans Tails had found, he was calling it the Death Egg.

"What is it with Buttnik and eggs?" Tails had asked, and Sonic hadn't had an answer.

"Okay, this looks good, little buddy," he said now, pointing to a flatter part of the ship. "Set her down up – watch out, lasers!"

"Yeah, I – _Sonic_!" he yelped, as Sonic leapt up and off the wing, somersaulting to instead land on the platform, where he began taking out laser cannons with rapid-fire spindashes. But it was too late. One single blast smashed into the Tornado's hull, and Tails yelped as he saw fire. "Sonic! I'm going down!"

"_Tails_!" He rushed back, beginning to call on the emeralds' energy, but Tails quickly shook his head as the plane began to descend out of sight.

"Save it! I can get her down! Good luck!"

"TAILS!" he screamed, but the Tornado was already too far away and falling faster.

Hours later, chasing after the damaged Death Egg in his emerald-powered form, flying alongside the fixed bi-plane, Sonic turned his head to look at Tails, who grinned back.

For a second, he considered asking why Tails had come back. But, in the end, it was easier to just flip himself around to stand on the Tornado's wing and let the emerald energy fade away. He had a feeling he already knew why.

They flew in silence for almost twenty minutes, before a cloud bank up ahead began to clear, and Sonic felt his shoulders slump, eyes widening at what he was seeing.

"Is that – is that an island?" Tails squeaked. "In the _sky_?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, buddy, I think it is."

"That is so cool."

"It is way past cool," he corrected, and his smile turned vicious as he noticed the Egg dropping down behind it. "Even better – that's exactly where we're headed!"

"Alright!" Tails shouted. "Full speed ahead! To the Floating Island!"

* * *

It wasn't that Knuckles forgot his conversation with the queen, so much as he didn't really connect three heroic, royal children with the blue menace Robotnik showed him. Let alone a blue menace that could turn gold and glow like fire when coupled with seven miniature versions of his Master Emerald.

And the idiot was always around when bad stuff happened to the island. The bombings, the grenades, the crazy robots, _and_ he was running around that weird launch bay that had just sprung up out of nowhere, these last few months. _And_ he flew the scary metal hover-thingy that Knuckles had seen above the bombs all over that launch bay.

And it wasn't like Aleena had ever _said_ that Robotnik was the bad guy!

Really, it was all her fault. It all could have been avoided if she had just darn well explained herself.

"You're an idiot," Sonic informed him, as they stood in the sacred chamber, under the tapestry that showed the Legendary One battling what Knuckles now knew was Robotnik.

Knuckles scowled and wondered if he could get away with punching him one more time, just in case. "And you're psychotic! Who goes up against a whack job like Robotnik on his own? He's got lasers and robots and huge missile-shooting space ships!"

Sonic just raised an eyebrow, folding his arms, and Knuckles realised that was everything he'd thought Sonic was, a few minutes ago.

"I… shut up! I've got weapons and traps and – and this is my island! I'm mystically and morally bound to protect it!" he snapped, then glanced around. "Where's that little fox brat that follows you around, anyway?"

That stopped him, and he grimaced, glancing away. "When the launch bay went up, he didn't catch the boat in time. I _think_ he's fixing our plane. Somewhere."

Knuckles just looked at him for a long moment, then nodded and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "If he got hurt, my friends will have him. We can find him later. In the meantime, I've got an egg to fry."

"Not without me, you don't," he snapped, and ran past him, out after Robotnik's robot.

Darn hedgehogs.

* * *

Sonic shoved his hands back over his quills and took a deep breath, staring out at the horizon. He didn't look around as Knuckles stepped up beside him, but instead willed forth the Super Emeralds he'd been holding.

"Go home," he told them, and they vanished. Then he pulled out the ordinary Chaos Emeralds and wished them away too. Far away, where Robotnik wouldn't find them.

He and Knuckles watched as they flew off into the sunset, then looked around at each other.

"Thanks," Knuckles said awkwardly. "You know. For saving my island and all. And bringing me back up here with the Master Emerald."

"Whatever," he replied with a casual shrug. "It's what I do, man."

"Right." He frowned at him, trying to remember what Aleena had told him, and whether this blue-come-gold-come-multicoloured hedgehog had anything to do with it. "So what're you going to do now?"

"Dunno. I'm thinking maybe it's time to go back to Robotropolis."

"Where?"

"My hometown," he said, pointing down at the mainland below. "Robotnik's base of operations."

"You've never gone after him there before?"

He shook his head. "I always figured that if I stayed on the islands, I could forget him. That he'd never get off the mainland."

"But this is the Floating Island, about as far off the mainland as you can get, and he had a base here," Knuckles surmised, and Sonic nodded.

"He's not going away. So I'm goin' after him!" he said triumphantly, then turned and held out a fist. "Yo, Rad Red, you can always come along. Pay me back for some of that butt-whupping we gave each other."

"_What_? You destroyed half my island! You deserved me beating the daylights out of you!" he cried, but then stopped and grinned, bumping his fist against Sonic's. "Besides, my place is here. Gotta take care of my people, y'know."

"I hear that. But hey, maybe I'll see you around some time."

"Sure. Hey, since you're going on ahead, you want I should tell the fox kit where you went? He can catch you up."

Sonic stopped before he could take the step that would launch him off the island. "Ah, about that, Knuckles. Could y'not? Not that I don't want the kid around, but uh… this isn't so much on the adventure scale as the goin' to war thing," he said, then shrugged helplessly. "I don't want him gettin' hurt."

Knuckles smiled and nodded. "I get it. Hey, good luck with it all."

"No problemo, Knux. This'll be a piece of cake!" he said, and waved once more before spin dashing off the island.

* * *

As he'd told Knuckles, Sonic went back to the Resistance, and his Uncle, who bowled him over when he walked in the front door, and wouldn't let him out of the house again.

"We'd heard the rumours, Sonny-boy, but – I never dreamed they'd be true! You're really alive!" he kept saying, and hugged him every chance he got. Sonic started to think it was kind of a drag, really.

But by the third day of his house-arrest, Sonic was literally vibrating with cabin fever, and started bugging his uncle about letting him join the Resistance. Uncle Chuck said no, at first, but was 'strongly advised' to change his mind by some higher-ranking members of the Resistance.

What no one ever said, of course, was that they knew Robotnik had lots of files on Sonic the Hedgehog. He was a dangerous threat to Robotnik's security, and for some reason the files kept reassuring the reader that he didn't work with other hedgehogs, or seem to care about the Resistance, or Robotropolis. The files pointed out that Sonic had once said Robotnik killed his parents. They didn't know why any of it mattered, but they knew it meant one thing: Robotnik _was_ scared of Sonic. If he knew Sonic was in Robotropolis, he would panic, and declare war on the Resistance.

But really, it was only a matter of time before Robotnik found out.

Luckily, the Resistance said later, the Oracle was waiting, and moved fast.

* * *

They stood, alone for the first time in a month, on opposite sides of the computer terminal. Sonic clutched his guitar awkwardly, no longer certain how to hold it, and Robotnik's fingers twitched for the controls of a hovercraft he never used inside the boundaries of Mobius.

"I knew it. All along, I knew it," Robotnik sneered. "There was no coincidence big enough for there to be a hedgehog brat causing trouble for me that wasn't Aleena's."

"Thanks for the heads up," Sonic drawled. "Can I blast you now?"

"Can you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "In all our battles together, you've never once aimed for me specifically. My craft, my robots… but never me. You can't kill."

Sonic's eye twitched just a little, but he didn't otherwise respond. Robotnik's sneer grew.

"I doubt you can even use that guitar properly. You don't _like_ guns."

On pure pig-headed reaction, Sonic spun the guitar around and slammed through a chord that blasted a hole in the floor at Robotnik's feet.

"D'yargh!"

"Don't mean I can't use them," he snarled. "This is a warning, _Butt_nik. My sibs and I are gonna crush you and take back our Mom's throne. And there's nothing you can throw at us to stop us!"

"Oh? Then shoot me now, be done with it!"

For a long time, Sonic just stared at him, guitar raised but hand nowhere near the strings. Then he took a step back. "I wouldn't want my sibs to miss out on the fun."

And then he turned and ran, because he really didn't know what else to do.

* * *

"Decisions are what carve our path, young hedgehog," the Oracle said with a sly smile. He enjoyed frustrating Sonic, if only because he reacted so very visibly. It made him much more fun than Aleena. "Whether you act or not, you make a decision, of which there shall be consequences!"

Sonic drummed his fingers against the table. "Uh huh. And so that means… what, exactly?"

"You wish to know whether you should destroy Robotnik in both power and… body, correct?"

"That's a real nice way of putting it, but yeah," he said, and folded his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Sonia and the others all think that's the master plan. But it gives me the heebie-jeebies. Who're we to say who lives and who dies?"

"Who, indeed?" he asked. And to think, this was the boy Aleena had feared so terribly. He pulled a pile of tea leaves toward himself and began chopping them. "Robotnik has done a great many terrible things, young prince."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me that. He's a certifiable nut job, no question," he agreed, slashing his hand through the air. "And I bet that he'll keep doing them, even if we do manage to kick him out of Robotropolis."

"Yet you have concerns?"

"Well… yeah," he said, and sat down opposite the Oracle, only to stand up again a moment later. "I mean, I… that is… I mean… I don't want to do that. Or let other people do it. It's just… it's…"

"You think killing is wrong, no matter who is on either side of the knife."

"Yeah." He began zipping around the room, eyeing off all the bottled specimens. "So, I'm wondering, y'know, what'll happen. What if I get the chance and I don't take it?"

"Then such a decision will have consequences," he said, and smiled at Sonic's irritable look. "And yet, if you do follow through, there shall be consequences therein, also. The question, young hedgehog, is which you can live with."

* * *

The second time Sonic came up onto the Floating Island, Knuckles knew he didn't really have much excuse not to recognise him, except that the talk he'd had with Aleena had been over a year ago, and he still wasn't really sure he believed her. Not to mention that the holo-projection Sleet and Dingo showed him did a really good job of making the triplets look evil. And it wasn't exactly unlike Sonic to want an emerald, after all.

And… okay… maybe he didn't… exactly… remember what Sonic looked like…

"Why'd you save me?" Knuckles asked, as Sonic dragged him back up onto the cliff he'd fallen off after setting off his own stupid trap.

Sonic slung an arm around his shoulders with a nasty smile that was all too much teeth. "Let's talk, bud," he said, and then used his free hand to punch Knuckles in the head. "You idiot!"

"Hey, what! What was that?" he demanded, shoving the hedgehog off. "You save me, ask to talk, and then slug me? Who the heck are you, anyway?"

"_What_? Okay, so I know your brain is only working at half-strength on a good day, but seriously, I am like, way too cool for even someone like you to forget!" he cried, waving his arms. "Hello? Sonic the Hedgehog? Coolest guy on Mobius? Saviour of your butt only like, six months ago?"

That was when it clicked, and Knuckles cringed. Granted, Sonic looked a lot different when his siblings were around (shorter… much shorter, and kinda flabby), and there was something… off about him, when he was wearing that necklace, but when he looked properly…

"Oh, shut up and get over yourself," snapped Knuckles. "Sleet and Dingo said you were coming to steal my emerald! Old alliances mean nothing when the Chaos Emerald is involved!"

"Sleet and… wait, those idiots are here?" Sonic groaned and slapped a hand to his head. "Okay, Knucklehead, maybe we oughta get the whole story sorted out, first."

* * *

Later, as they watched Sonia and Manic daring each other to eat Knuckles' 'echidna delicacy', Knuckles leaned back beside Sonic and asked, "So how come you weren't travelling with these guys before?"

Sonic blanched, checked to make sure they hadn't heard, then punched him. "Keep it down, wouldja? They don't know I've been up here before!"

"Wha…? They don't? Why not?"

"Because I don't want them knowing what an idiot you are!" he hissed, and ignored Knuckles' look by watching the dinosaur rumbling around the bushes. "They don't know about any of that stuff. As far as they know, I've always been Resistance. And that's how it's gonna stay, okay?"

"Hey, whatever, it's your lie to your siblings," he said, but he met Sonic's glare with a smirk. "Doesn't answer my question, though."

"I didn't know about them," he said simply. "We only met a few months back."

"Seriously? Heavy, man… did you know about your mom?"

"Nope. Tell you the truth, I thought I really was related to my Uncle Chuck, and it was just that no one wanted to tell me," he said with a grin, then looked back at his siblings. "I wanna find Mom, sure, but this whole prince thing is weird. Not sure I like it."

Knuckles just watched him for a moment, then shrugged and followed his gaze. "So how come you don't want to tell them about before?"

"Because they already get mondo upset when I save the day now," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's all of us or none of us. I'm not about to go telling them I brought down Robotnik's footholds on the islands with just me and a fox kit."

"And no music."

"Or weapons."

"And I think you were better at the whole saving the day thing back then," he added, and Sonic nodded.

"Totally."

They sat in silence for almost a minute. Manic had finally surrendered the game – by shoving a handful of food into Sonia's mouth, only for her to discover it tasted quite good. They were now chowing down without complaint.

"So. Prophecy, huh?" Knuckles finally prompted, and Sonic grimaced.

"How's that Guardian thing goin', Knuc'?"

"Point taken," he said, and they went back to sitting in silence.

* * *

The war continued, and heated up. With the Sonic Underground leading the charge and inspiring the populace, the Resistance became larger and more effective. Factories were brought down every other night. SWATbots now had to travel in packs of three, and were still destroyed every day. Music was played loudly in defiance of the law, and some of the braver aristocrats had even begun refusing to pay extra tributes to Robotnik's schemes.

Sonic lay back in the shadows of their safe house, strumming his guitar as he listened to the Resistance talks. The time was coming – Robotnik would fall soon.

And then someone – maybe not his siblings, or even Cyrus, but _someone_ would kill him. Sonia called for it often enough. She'd even used the words 'remove the head', last week. It was playing in song form through Sonic's head, on repeat. He knew that it would end up being the song that inspired the Resistance to make their final stand. He would probably sing a lot of it. It made him sick.

"A thought, young hedgehog," the Oracle had murmured, on one of his solo trips up to see the old hermit. He wasn't sure why he kept going there. Maybe because he kept hoping someone would give him permission to leave his siblings the way their mother had. The Oracle seemed to know what he was thinking. "More often than not, you are the one who ends up rescuing your family from mortal peril, correct?"

"Yeah. I'm faster than they are."

"You are also the one most often leading the charge, going deeper into territory than others to ensure their safety before they follow," he said, and raised a knowing eyebrow. "Would that not then logically follow that you shall be the first to meet Robotnik at his end?"

He gripped the second neck of his guitar and pulled it close to his body. He didn't know what that meant… he wasn't sure he wanted to, either.

* * *

The charge happened on what was only supposed to be a routine night, heading into the palace to further weaken their defences. But then they were followed by an army of riled up citizens, and their mother appeared in the middle of one of the battles. It had all begun.

Sonic ran ahead, as planned, still slamming through chords to match the drums, melody and vocals that he could still hear from his family, back in the main battle. He spin dashed and blasted through SWATbots, clearing a path right through to the control room, where he slid to a stop in front of Robotnik.

The soon-to-be-toppled dictator was in an Egg-o-Matic, and sneered at Sonic's panting. "Tired, young princeling? Now that's not like you."

He didn't bother to reply, just lifted his guitar to point at Robotnik's nose. He wasn't panting from exertion or weariness. He just couldn't breathe, knowing what was about to happen.

"Ah, Sonic," Robotnik murmured, eyeing the glowing guitar heads. "After all we've been through, these last three years. You really think you can shoot me?"

"No, but my sister can," he said quietly. "And I can make sure you don't leave before she gets here."

Robotnik's smile faded, his hands twitching on the controls. "I suppose that is something you could do, yes." His eyes narrowed. "This city means enough to you now."

"City? Nah," he said. "Nah, Robotropolis is a big, stinkin' dump and I don't care what happens to it."

"Then what –"

"But it matters to Mom. It matters to Sonia and Manic." His fingers never stopped moving, still strumming along with the music he could hear in his head and heart, if not his ears. "Their kingdom matters to them, and if I can, I'm sure as heck gonna give it to 'em."

"And so you will kill me—or, at least, you will do nothing to save me from certain death—just to give them that kingdom?" he asked, and a nasty smirk began spreading over his lips again. "And here I thought you fought for freedom, Hedgehog. But it turns out you're just a bloody-minded soldier like the rest of us."

Sonic's fingers fell from the strings, and for a long time, they just stared at each other, before Sonic leapt up to stand on the hovercraft. Robotnik leaned back, but Sonic didn't reach out, just looked over at the window. Robotnik followed his gaze with a heavy frown.

"Or are you more than that?" he wondered quietly, glancing back at Sonic in confusion. "Are you the high-minded hero the echidna texts say you are…?"

Sonic's eyes snapped back to him, and faster than Robotnik could even blink, slugged him in the eye, so hard that the momentum actually sent the whole hovercraft back against the throne. Then Sonic snatched up a fistful of that terrible bodysuit and dragged him halfway out of the egg.

"To heck with prophecies," he snarled against Robotnik's moustache. "I don't care about good and evil, Buttnik. The good thing to do would be keep you here, locked in prison, to rot like the rotten egg you are. That won't happen. Too many people want to see you bleed dry. The evil thing would be to let you go, and let you ruin Mobius again."

He shoved Robotnik back into his seat and swung his guitar up again, pointing it between the old man's eyes. Then he yanked it up and blasted the window instead, before returning it to Robotnik's face.

"I'm letting you go, Robotnik. But you ever try something like Robotropolis again and I will come after you – I promise you that. And if you ever touch any of the Mobian territories again—_ever_—I will bring the worst of the Resistance to you and I won't stop them from doing what they've wanted to do for years."

Robotnik managed a weak smirk only by tilting his head back. "This is Mobotropolis' Heir to the Throne? Such a flippant prince, making idle threats?"

He flipped off the craft and pulled his guitar back into his medallion, meeting Robotnik's gaze with a direct look. "You really think I'm _threatening_ you, fatman?"

They continued staring at each other for several long minutes, until the music began to filter out through the hallway, bolstered by a chorus of furious voices.

"I figure you've got two minutes to get out of the city. That's prolly when they'll get here, and ask if I saw you go," Sonic said coldly. "I'll prolly catch you if Mom tells me to."

"Probably," he agreed, and inclined his head. "Your mother was right about you, after all, Son of Chaos. You will cause your world's destruction! I accept your terms, Sonic _the_ Hedgehog. And I will see you on the battlefield across the ocean."

"Can't wait, Robuttnik," he said with a grin.

And he let Robotnik fly away… because he could.

It felt like the best thing he'd done all year.

* * *

Two months later, Tails was flying the Tornado, now painted blue for the one who'd left it to him and saved his life, when he felt an odd sort of nudge.

He tried to explain it later, but that was the best way to describe it. A nudge. It made him tilt the Tornado and peer over the side of the cockpit to the ground below.

A streak of blue.

"No way…"

He tilted the plane further, diving down until he could fly alongside the cliff the streak of blue was travelling along. And then he stared at it.

Sonic stared back.

Then a grin snapped into place.

"Hey Tails! Long time, no see!"

He couldn't recover so quickly, but after a few seconds, he began to smile. "Hey, Sonic!"

"Slammin' colour," he said, pointing to the plane, and Tails shrugged.

"I like it. Hey, I found this island a little while ago – lots of speeding pads and loops. Heaps of magic rings, too, but you know how I am at keeping hold of them!"

Without even breaking stride, Sonic leapt up, twisting through the air to land on the wing, where he set a hand on his hip and twisted around to give Tails a thumbs-up. "Let's go check it out then!"

* * *

And back at the palace, Aleena pushed her hands against her mouth, staring at the medallion Sonic had left behind.

It seemed that no matter what she did, her terrible visions would come to pass.

If she only knew.

* * *

_ Welp. This is it. Full circle and all that. Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you thought - it was mainly for fun (and to get rid of a bigger idea in my head - didn't work, but you probably don't need to know about that), but I'd still like to hear what you guys thought. Thanks for letting me play in your sandbox!_


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